Network media device

ABSTRACT

A network media device is described that pulls multimedia data from one or more sources (e.g., a multimedia website or a multimedia server computer) at a first time, stores it to long-term storage within the device and transmits the stored multimedia data to one or more designated multimedia playback devices at a second time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/869,238, filed Apr. 24, 2013, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/175,442, filed Jul. 1, 2011, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,443,038 issued May 14, 2013. This application alsoclaims priority to now-abandoned U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/530,855, which is titled “Network Media Device,” by Jeffrey L. Robbinand David Heller, which was filed 11 Sep. 2006, of which parentapplication Ser. No. 13/175,442 is a divisional application. Theseapplications are incorporated by reference.

This application additionally claims priority to pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/862,115, which is titled “Networked MediaStation,” by Philip F. Kearney et al., which was filed 4 Jun. 2004, ofwhich grandparent application Ser. No. 11/530,855 is a continuation inpart. This application further claims priority to now-abandoned U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/306,557, which is titled “System andMethod for Synchronizing Media Presentation at Multiple Recipients,” byBob Bradley and Robert D. Newberry, which was filed 2 Jan. 2006, ofwhich grandparent application Ser. No. 11/530,855 is a continuation inpart. These applications are incorporated by reference.

This application is also related to pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/519,429, which is titled “Transfer and Synchronization of MediaData,” by David Heller, et al., which was filed on 11 Sep. 2006. Thisapplication is incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

With the increasing capacity and capability of personal computers, aswell as improved multimedia interfaces for these computers, it hasbecome popular to use personal computers as a repository for multimediacontent, such as songs, movies, etc. Particularly with music, theincreased popularity of storing multimedia information on a personalcomputer has resulted in a variety of products and services to servethis industry. For example, a variety of portable players of encodedmultimedia information have been developed, including, for example, theiPod® produced by Apple Computer. Additionally, services have beendeveloped around these devices, which allow consumers to purchase musicand other multimedia information in digital form suitable for storageand playback using personal computers, including; for example, theiTunes® music service, also run by Apple Computer. (IPOD and ITUNES areregistered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc).

Services such as iTunes and the substantially unlimited storage spaceprovided by modern personal computer systems has resulted in anenvironment where many consumers use their personal computer as theirprimary vehicle for obtaining, storing; and accessing multimediainformation. Because consumers may access their multimedia content atvirtually any time of the day, however, this implies that one's personalcomputer system must be powered and operational at all times.Additionally, consumers may prefer to experience certain media content,particularly video content such as movies, using moreentertainment-oriented devices; such as home theater systems, whichtypically include larger screens and higher fidelity audio systems thanpersonal computer systems.

Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a mechanism whereby a consumercould off-load, over a computer network, specified multimedia content toa playback device that could at a later time, send the information toconventional entertainment devices such as stereo equipment,televisions, home theatre systems, etc.

SUMMARY

A network media device is described that receives multimedia data fromone or more sources (e.g., a multimedia website or a multimedia servercomputer) at a first time; stores it to long-term storage within thedevice and transmits the stored multimedia data to one or moredesignated multimedia playback devices at a second time. In someembodiments, the network media device obtains multimedia data using apull operation. In one embodiment, the pull operation is effectedthrough an Ethernet (wired or wireless) connection. In anotherembodiment the pull operation is effected through a peripheralconnection (e.g., a USB or FireWire interface). Media content may alsobe pushed to the device using the same interfaces. In yet anotherembodiment, the network media device may also stream multimedia datafrom another source; obtained through either a pull or push operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows, in block diagram form, a multimedia system in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows, in block diagram form, a network media device inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show; in flowchart form; a multimedia data sourcedesignation operation in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show, in flowchart form, a multimedia playback operationin accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a graphical user interface used to control synchronizationbetween a network media device and a content source in accordance withone embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a graphical user interface used to control synchronizationbetween a network media device and a content source in accordance withone embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the invention as claimed and is provided in thecontext of devices and applications compatible with computer systemsmanufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., areillustrative only and should not be considered limiting in any respect.Accordingly, the claims appended hereto are not intended to be limitedby the disclosed embodiments, but are to be accorded their widest scopeconsistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.

Referring to FIG. 1, illustrative multimedia system 100 is shown ascomprising personal computer system 105 coupled to Internet 110 andnetwork media device 115 which, in turn, is coupled to multimedia system120. Network media device 115 may also be coupled to Internet 110 (seedashed line). Personal computer 105 and network media device 115 may becoupled directly to Internet 110 or indirectly through, for example, alocal area network or DSL or cable modem. In general, personal computersystem 105 may be any computer system capable of executing a generalpurpose operating system such as, for example, OS X from Apple Computeror the Windows® or Linux® operating systems, (WINDOWS is a registeredtrademark of Microsoft corporation. LINUX is a registered trademark ofLinus Torvalds.) Multimedia system 120 may comprise any system adaptedto receive and play audio (e.g., analog and digital) and/or video (e.g.,composite video, S-video, component video, DVI) signals.

Referring to FIG. 2, network media device 115 comprises input interface200, processor unit 205, memory 210, storage 215 and multimediainterface 220. In one embodiment, input interface 200 includes a networkinterface and a peripheral interface. A network interface provides wired(e.g., Ethernet) and/or wireless (e.g., I5E 802.11b or 802.11g-“WiFi”)connectivity to a computer network. A peripheral interface may includeone or more connectors suitable for linking to another device such as,for example, a USB, I5E 1394 (“Firewire”), RS-232 (serial interface) orI5E 1284 (parallel interface) bus connectors. Referring to FIG. 1, forexample, network media device 115 could be connected to computer system105 through a wired network connection or by a USB bus and to Internet110 through a wireless Ethernet connection. Processor 205 may be asingle computer processor (e.g., a commercially available CICS or RISCprocessor), a special purpose processor (e.g., a digital signalprocessor, “DSP”), a plurality of interconnected processors or a customdesigned state machine embodied in, for example, an application specificintegrated circuit (“ASIC”) or field programmable gate array (“FPGA”).Memory 210 represents random access memory (volatile and/ornon-volatile), while storage 215 represents long-term non-volatilememory such as, for example, a magnetic or optical disk unit As notedabove, multimedia interface 220 comprises connectors suitable fortransmitting audio (e.g., analog and digital) and/or video (e.g.,composite video, S-video, component video 1 DVI) signals.

As used herein a network media device (e.g., device 115) is a physicalunit having non-volatile long-term storage (e.g., storage 215) and whoseoperation is governed by a limited-use operating system. By limited-use,it is meant that the operating system does not support the execution ofa general purpose user interface (e.g., a standard windowingenvironment) and, therefore, the execution of general-purposeapplications (e.g., word processors and drawing programs).

As noted above, a function of device 115 is to obtain multimedia files,retain them in storage 215, and then transmit them at a later time toone or more multimedia devices (e.g., a stereo or television). Tofacilitate these operations, device 115 preferably includes alimited-use operating system that provides a user interface to (1)identify and select multimedia files that should be obtained and (2)identify and select which multimedia files to transmit to a designatedmultimedia device. In one embodiment, this interface is provided througha stand-alone application executing on a general purpose computer system(e.g., personal computer system 105) through for example, an Ethernetconnection or a USB port within input interface 200. In anotherembodiment, device 115 provides a web interface through a networkconnection (wired or wireless) within input interface 200. It will berecognized that this latter approach is often provided by other networkdevices such as, for example, routers and firewalls. In still anotherembodiment device 115 provides a user interface through a connectedmultimedia playback device such as, for example, a television display.In this embodiment, device 115 could transmit the visual representationof a user interface through a video output connector within multimediainterface 220.

User interaction could be mediated through a special-purpose controldevice unique to device 115 or a multimedia-aware remote control unitfor the display unit (e.g., television). In any of theseimplementations, sources of multimedia data files available throughinput interface 200 (i.e., network and/or peripheral connectors) may beidentified. For example, multimedia files or directories located onpersonal computer system 105 or a server computer system coupled tosystem 100 via Internet 110 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), may bedesignated as a “source.” Once identified, network multimedia device 115may obtain or download the specified file(s) immediately. Alternatively,network multimedia device 115 may be commanded to obtain one or moremultimedia files from a designated source location on a periodic basis.During periodic download operations, it is preferable that files alreadyobtained and resident on storage 215 are not downloaded again. It willbe recognized that this latter function is often referred to as“synchronization.” Once obtained, the user interface permits amultimedia data file to be transmitted to one or more designatedmultimedia playback devices. In one embodiment, this action may beperformed immediately (that is, as soon as the user designates both amultimedia data file and at least one target multimedia device). Inanother embodiment, a multimedia data file may be transmitted to one ormore designated multimedia devices at a specified time.

In addition to the software-based user interfaces describedabove/multimedia network device 115 may provide a hardware-basedinterface for media file playback. For example, a surface of device 115may include a relatively small display on which the contents of storage215 are displayed. One illustrative display of this type is presented bythe iPod electronic device. In addition, conventional PLAY, PAUSE, STOP,SKIP, FORWARD, REVERSE, REPEAT, SELECT and cursor control buttons may beprovided. If the aforementioned display is capable, one or more of theidentified control buttons may be “soft” buttons. Through theseelements, a user may select one or more multimedia files and one or moretarget multimedia devices on which to play the selected file(s).

Referring to FIG. 3A, source designation process 300 for identifying oneor more multimedia data files is shown. To begin, a user specifies amultimedia data source (block 305). As described above, this may includeone or more files on a computer system directly coupled to multimediadevice via a network or peripheral bus connector or indirectly through acomputer network (e.g., the Internet or a local area network). Oncedesignated, multimedia device 115 retrieves the specified data (block310) and stores it internally in storage 215 (block 315). Once obtainedin this manner, the multimedia data may be transmitted to one or moretarget devices for playback/display (see discussion below regarding FIG.4). Additionally, by user selection, playback/display of the multimediadata may begin immediately upon designation before the transfer of themultimedia data from the source is completed.

Referring now to FIG. 3B, download operation 310 is shown in greaterdetail In the illustrated embodiment, a first check is made to determineif it is the proper time to download the specified file. In oneembodiment, a user may specify a time at which a download should occur.In another embodiment, the user may specify an interval after which thespecified file may be downloaded. In yet another embodiment, the usermay specify a repeating interval wherein one or more files may bedownloaded every specified interval (e.g., day or week). It will beappreciated that this latter approach is particularly useful toperiodically synchronize storage 215 with one or more other storagelocations (e.g. multimedia data servers). If it is not yet time (the“No” prong of block 320), the process waits until the proper time. If itis time (the “Yes” prong of block 320), a second check is made todetermine if the specified file is already present in storage 215. Ifthe file is not present (the “No” prong of block 325), the file isdownloaded from the specified location (block 330). It win be recognizedthat some multimedia data sources may stream the specified data tomultimedia device 115. In these instances, device 115 may store the dataas received (i.e. in a “streaming” format) or it may convert it to anon-streaming format if the file is present (the “Yes” prong of block325) or at completion of the current download operation (block 330), athird check is made to determine if all of the user-specified files havebeen obtained. If they have (the “Yes” prong of block 335), processingcontinues at block 315. if they have not (the “no” prong of block 335),processing continues at block 325.

It is noted that multimedia data files may be encoded in accordance withany one of a number of different formats. For example, MPEG-1 (MovingPictures Experts Group); MPEG-2, MPEG-4 1 MP3® (Motion Picture Expert'sGroup Layer 3), A3 (Advanced Audio Coding; a/k/a/ MPEG-4 audio),Quicktime@, AVI (Audio Video Interleave), RI6 (Resource Interchange FileFormat), WMA (Windows IV1edia Audio), Ogg, etc (MP3 is a registeredtrademark of Thomson Multimedia. QUICKTIME is a registered trademark ofApple computer.) The claimed invention may be used to obtain, store andtransmit (to a multimedia playback device) data files using any ofthese, or other, data formats. It will be recognized by one of ordinaryskill in the art that multimedia device 115 will incorporate decodercapability for each file format it is configured to process (e.g.,software routines).

Referring to FIG. 4, multimedia data playback operation 400 is shown. Tobegin, a user specifies a multimedia data file for playback (block 405).Next, the user designates one (or more) multimedia playback units towhich the specified data file should be sent (block 410). Multimediadevice 115 then transmits the specified file to the designatedmultimedia playback unit In one embodiment, multiple multimedia filesmay be selected and sent to one or more playback devices. For example, amusic file may be transmitted to a stereo system in a first locationwhile a digital video file may be transmitted to a display device in asecond location—at the same time or at different times.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, transmit operation 415 is shown in greaterdetail. In the illustrated embodiment, a check is made to determine ifit is the proper time to transmit the specified file, If it is not yettime (the “No” prong of block 420), the process waits until the propertime. If it is time (the “Yes” prong of block 420), the specified fileis retrieved from storage 215 (block 425) and transmitted to thedesignated multimedia playback device via multimedia interface 220(block 430). In one embodiment, if the target multimedia playback devicesupports it, device 115 could determine if the designated playbackdevice is present and/or capable of playing the specified file (e.g.,immediately prior to performing the acts of block 430). if the playbackdevice is not available (e.g., not “online”) or not able to play thespecified file, an error message could be generated and/or othercorrective actions taken.

It should be noted that in the discussion of FIGS. 3 and 4, variousbuffering, error checking, and other data transfer steps implicit invarious forms of digital communications have been omitted. Nonetheless,these steps are preferably present and may be implemented in accordancewith a variety of techniques known to those skilled in the art Inaddition, for security and digital rights management purposes it may bedesirable to determine whether networked media device 115 (and/or theuser operating same) is authorized to receive the specified multimediadata files. This generally requires some form of authentication, and maybe based on a public/private key system.

Because of the potentially rich feature set of network multimedia device115 and because of the various mechanisms by which the device mayinteract with other devices, e.g., via network or peripheral interface,etc., the network multimedia device 115 devices preferably includesautomated discovery and configuration routines that simplify setup ofthe device. In one embodiment, for use in a network environment, thenetwork media device 115 may use the Bonjour protocol; developed byApple computer, to advertise the services it provides on a localnetwork. This allows other devices, such as PC system 105 runningBonjour-compliant software, for example iTunes, to “discover” thenetwork media device 115. Alternatively, the network media device 115may “discover” services available on the network, such as theaforementioned PC system running iTunes.

Upon discovery of one or more services available on the network, a userinterface provided by network multimedia device 115 may present avariety of options to the user. For example; the network multimediadevice may present a list of multimedia libraries on the local networkto which the network multimedia device may connect. This list ofmultimedia libraries may include libraries stored on different machinesor may include different libraries stored on the same machine. Differentlibraries stored on the same machine may include libraries belonging tomultiple users; e.g., iTunes libraries for multiple people, or mayinclude different types of libraries, such as an iTunes library, aniPhoto® library, etc. (IPHOTO is a registered trademark of AppleComputer, Inc.). Within a given library, content may further be dividedinto different categories. For example, an iTunes library may includevideo content (television programs, movies, etc.) and audio content(music; audiobooks; Podcasts, etc.). The user may then select one ormore of these shared libraries with which to connect and may furtherspecify specific multimedia content (e.g., files) within the librariesthat should be transferred to the device in accordance with one or moreof the techniques described herein.

Alternatively; a user interacting with PC system 105 may also discoverthe services provided by network multimedia device 115. As illustratedin FIGS. 5 and 6, such a device may, for example, show up as adestination 501, 601 for multimedia content in the user interface 500,600 of a multimedia application. The user interface provided alsopreferably provides the user a variety of options for which multimediacontent will be transferred to the device 502, 602.

In either of the above cases, it may be desirable to “pair,” i.e.,uniquely associate, a network multimedia device 115 with a particular PCsystem 105 or a particular library or media application thereon. Uponpairing, the network multimedia device 115 preferably ceases toadvertise available services on the local network, as these services arenow within the exclusive control of a particular PC system or aparticular library/media application thereon. This cessation ofadvertising services would cause the representation 501, 601 of networkmultimedia device 115 to “disappear” from the user interface 500, 600 ofthe media applications running on other PC systems on the network.Additionally, the user interface presented by network multimedia device115 may cease to display libraries not associated with the pairedcomputer upon establishing a pairing.

The establishment of a pairing permits network multimedia device 115 andPC system 105 to synchronize data between them. A variety ofsynchronization techniques have been developed in the art and may finduse in conjunction with the systems described herein. Some particularlyadvantageous synchronization techniques are described in U.S. PatentPublication 2003/0167318, entitled “Intelligent Synchronization of MediaPlayer with Host Computer”; U.S. Patent Publication 2003/0079038,entitled “Intelligent Interaction Between Media Player and HostComputer”; U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0168351, entitled “WirelessSynchronization Between Media Player and Host Device”; and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/324,863 entitled “Remote Content Updates forPortable Media Devices”; each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

A wide variety of synchronization parameters may preferably be specifiedby the user. For example; a user may choose to synchronize certainplaylists. Alternatively, a user may choose to synchronize media of aparticular type (e.g., video content or audio content) or a particularsub-type (e.g., video content including television programs but notmovies) 503, 603. Content to be synchronized may also be specified basedon a variety of other parameters 504, 604 associated with the mediacontent. Such parameters may include: content that has not yet beenplayed, purchased content, locally created content, newly downloadedcontent, content of a certain genre, content that has not been playedrecently, content that is played frequently, etc. For content that comesin the form of multiple episodes, e.g., television programs, Podcasts,etc., a user may also specify how many episodes should be synchronized(for example; an episodes, unplayed episodes, or a fixed number ofepisodes).

The synchronization features also preferably include a mechanism forspecifying content that will be automatically removed from the networkmultimedia device 115. For example, because of the relatively highstorage requirements of storing video data, it may be desirable toremove video content from the network multimedia device once it has beenviewed. Alternatively, time specific content that is sufficiently oldthat its value has decreased substantially, e.g., week-old newsbroadcasts, may be automatically removed even if they have not beenviewed. Of course these concepts need not be limited to video contentand may equally apply to audio content.

It may also be desirable to automatically pass changes made on onedevice to another without waiting for a user-initiated synchronization.Such synchronization may, for example, be event based, Thus when contentis played back on the network multimedia device, its status is updatedon the PC system. Similarly, if a particular media file is viewed on thePC system, it may be automatically removed from the network multimediadevice. In general, it may be desirable to synchronize any change,whether adding or deleting a file, viewing a file reclassifying a file,etc. upon the occurrence of the event without waiting for auser-initiated or time-based synchronization.

It is not necessary that the network multimedia device 115 only playback content that has been transferred via synchronization with anotherdevice, particularly one with which it is paired. For example, inaddition to the synchronization techniques described herein, the networkmultimedia device 115 may also stream content that has not beensynchronized. Such content may be either non-synchronized contentlocated on the paired device or may be content located on a non-paireddevice. The user interface of network multimedia device 115 may presentvarious indications to the user as to what content is stored locally,i.e., that which as been synchronized or otherwise transferred fromanother device, and that which must be streamed. Such indications maytake the form of highlighting, different colors, different screenwindows or panes, icons, etc Additionally, while streaming content, itmay be advantageous to transfer content faster than it is played backand cache the not yet needed content on the network multimedia device.This will, in many cases, allow the transfer to be completed long beforethe transfer would be completed in a classic streaming context. In thisway there will be no negative effect if the device from which media isbeing streamed is taken off line during playback of the media.

One benefit of network multimedia device 115 in accordance with theinvention is that relatively large quantities of multimedia data may beobtained via a computer network and stored on the device, whereafterthey may be replayed without the need for the original source to be“on-line.” In contrast, prior art multimedia devices typically “stream”data so that the data source must be accessible during playbackoperations.

The network multimedia device 115 may also incorporate instant playtechnology as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/131,800entitled “Media Player with Instant Play Capability,” which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Various changes in the materials, components, circuit elements, as wellas in the details of the illustrated operational methods are possiblewithout departing from the scope of the following claims. For instance,multimedia device 115 may include a status light to provide anindication of the device's operational state. In one embodiment, astatus light could be a light emitting diode (LED) or a combination ofLEDs integrated into a single package to allow illumination in differentcolors, e.g. 1 green, red, and/or amber/yellow. For example, the statuslight may be off to indicate that the device is not powered; the lightmay flash in a particular color, e.g., green, to indicate that it ispowering up and/or going through a startup/self-diagnostic routine; thelight may illuminate in a solid color, e.g., green to indicate that itis on and functioning properly; the light may also illuminate or flashin a first color, e.g., yellow; to indicate that a download is inprogress and illuminate or flash in a second color, e.g., orange, toindicate a playback transmission is in progress; and the light mayilluminate or flash in yet another color, e.g., red, to indicate aproblem exists, such as no playback devices in range or no networksignal. Further, and as wen be recognized by one or ordinary skill inthe art, computer program instructions for implementing the describedfunctionality (e.g., FIGS. 3 and 4) may be organized into routines ormodules and stored in memory 210 and/or storage 215.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of receiving multimedia content from acontent source by a network multimedia device, wherein the networkmultimedia device and the content source are in communication through atleast one network, the method comprising: advertising, by the networkmultimedia device, one or more services provided by the networkmultimedia device, wherein the one or more services provided by thenetwork multimedia device are advertised on the at least one networkusing a predetermined protocol, wherein the one or more services areassociated with at least one multimedia playback device coupled to thenetwork multimedia device, and wherein the advertising facilitatesdiscovery of the network multimedia device by the content source;receiving, by the network multimedia device, the multimedia content fromthe content source; and initiating playback of the multimedia content bythe at least one multimedia playback device.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising accepting, at the network multimedia device, userinput to obtain the multimedia content from the content source andinitiate playback of the multimedia content by the network multimediadevice.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising accepting, at theat least one multimedia playback device, user input to cause the networkmultimedia device to obtain the multimedia content from the contentsource and initiate playback of the multimedia content by the networkmultimedia device.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:establishing a paired relationship between the network multimedia deviceand the content source; and configuring the network multimedia device toreceive the multimedia content from the content source.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising accepting, at the network multimedia device,user input to establish the paired relationship between the networkmultimedia device and the content source.
 6. The method of claim 4,further comprising accepting, at the at least one multimedia playbackdevice, user input to cause the network multimedia device to establishthe paired relationship between the network multimedia device and thecontent source.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the pairedrelationship between the network multimedia device and the contentsource is exclusive.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing themultimedia content comprises: presenting one or more multimedialibraries each containing one or more multimedia files that may betransferred to the network multimedia device; accepting user inputspecifying which of the one or more multimedia files are to betransferred to the network multimedia device; and transferring thespecified one or more multimedia files to the network multimedia device.9. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the multimedia contentcomprises receiving the multimedia content at the content source from aremote source.
 10. A method of delivering multimedia content from acontent source to a network multimedia device, wherein the networkmultimedia device and the content source are in communication through atleast one network, the method comprising: discovering, by the contentsource, one or more services provided by the network multimedia device,wherein the one or more services provided by the network multimediadevice are advertised on the at least one network using a predeterminedprotocol, wherein the one or more services are associated with at leastone multimedia playback device coupled to the network multimedia device;and providing, by the content source, the multimedia content to thenetwork multimedia device; and causing the at least one multimediaplayback device to initiate playback of the multimedia content.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising accepting, at the content sourcefrom the network multimedia device, user input to obtain the multimediacontent from the content source and initiate playback of the multimediacontent by the network multimedia device.
 12. The method of claim 10,further comprising: establishing a paired relationship between thenetwork multimedia device and the content source; and configuring thenetwork multimedia device to receive the multimedia content from thecontent source.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprisingaccepting, at the content source from the network multimedia device,user input to establish the paired relationship between the networkmultimedia device and the content source.
 14. The method of claim 12,wherein the paired relationship between the network multimedia deviceand the content source is exclusive.
 15. The method of claim 10, whereinproviding the multimedia content comprises: presenting one or moremultimedia libraries each containing one or more multimedia files thatmay be transferred to the network multimedia device; accepting userinput specifying which of the one or more multimedia files are to betransferred to the network multimedia device; and transferring thespecified one or more multimedia files to the network multimedia device.16. The method of claim 10, wherein providing the multimedia contentcomprises receiving the multimedia content at the content source from aremote source.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable medium havinginstructions stored thereon for causing a hardware processor to performa method of receiving multimedia content from a content source by anetwork multimedia device, wherein the network multimedia device and thecontent source are in communication through at least one network, themethod comprising: advertising, by the network multimedia device, one ormore services provided by the network multimedia device, wherein the oneor more services provided by the network multimedia device areadvertised on the at least one network using a predetermined protocol,wherein the one or more services are associated with at least onemultimedia playback device coupled to the network multimedia device, andwherein the advertising facilitates discovery of the network multimediadevice by the content source; receiving, by the network multimediadevice, the multimedia content from the content source; and initiatingplayback of the multimedia content by the at least one multimediaplayback device.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 17, wherein the method further comprises accepting, at the networkmultimedia device, user input to obtain the multimedia content from thecontent source and initiate playback of the multimedia content by thenetwork multimedia device.
 19. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises accepting, atthe at least one multimedia playback device, user input to cause thenetwork multimedia device to obtain the multimedia content from thecontent source and initiate playback of the multimedia content by thenetwork multimedia device.
 20. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 17, wherein the method further comprises: establishing apaired relationship between the network multimedia device and thecontent source; and configuring the network multimedia device to receivethe multimedia content from the content source.
 21. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the method furthercomprises accepting, at the network multimedia device, user input toestablish the paired relationship between the network multimedia deviceand the content source.
 22. The non-transitory computer readable mediumof claim 20, wherein the method further comprises accepting, at the atleast one multimedia playback device, user input to cause the networkmultimedia device to establish the paired relationship between thenetwork multimedia device and the content source.
 23. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 20, wherein the paired relationshipbetween the network multimedia device and the content source isexclusive.
 24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17,wherein providing the multimedia content comprises: presenting one ormore multimedia libraries each containing one or more multimedia filesthat may be transferred to the network multimedia device; accepting userinput specifying which of the one or more multimedia files are to betransferred to the network multimedia device; and transferring thespecified one or more multimedia files to the network multimedia device.25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, whereinproviding the multimedia content comprises receiving the multimediacontent at the content source from a remote source.
 26. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon for causinga hardware processor to perform a method of delivering multimediacontent from a content source to a network multimedia device, whereinthe network multimedia device and the content source are incommunication through at least one network, the method comprising:discovering, by the content source, one or more services provided by thenetwork multimedia device, wherein the one or more services provided bythe network multimedia device are advertised on the at least one networkusing a predetermined protocol, wherein the one or more services areassociated with at least one multimedia playback device coupled to thenetwork multimedia device; providing, by the content source, themultimedia content to the network multimedia device; and causing the atleast one multimedia playback device to initiate playback of themultimedia content.
 27. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 26, wherein the method further comprises accepting, at the contentsource from the network multimedia device, user input to obtain themultimedia content from the content source and initiate playback of themultimedia content by the network multimedia device.
 28. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 26, wherein the methodfurther comprises: establishing a paired relationship between thenetwork multimedia device and the content source; and configuring thenetwork multimedia device to receive the multimedia content from thecontent source.
 29. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim28, wherein the method further comprises accepting, at the contentsource from the network multimedia device, user input to establish thepaired relationship between the network multimedia device and thecontent source.
 30. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim28, wherein the paired relationship between the network multimediadevice and the content source is exclusive.
 31. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 26, wherein providing the multimediacontent comprises: presenting one or more multimedia libraries eachcontaining one or more multimedia files that may be transferred to thenetwork multimedia device; accepting user input specifying which of theone or more multimedia files are to be transferred to the networkmultimedia device; and transferring the specified one or more multimediafiles to the network multimedia device.
 32. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 26, wherein providing the multimedia contentcomprises receiving the multimedia content at the content source from aremote source.